Ballast Loaded Tires - any down sides?

[James1]

There is not a single flat spot on my entire farm in east Tennessee and I put ballast in the tires not for traction but for added stability on the slopes. The local cooperative uses methanol rather than CaCl and I haven't had a problem with it. I had the front tires filled to the normal 80% of capacity but on the rears I had them stop filling at 50% -- the theory being that I wanted to add weight close to the ground only.

I cannot say for sure that the ballast has prevented a sideways rollover, but I do feel it makes the tractor (Kubota L2900) a bit safer and I'm certainly glad I did it.

 

[Jimbo6538]

A local New Holland dealer [Maine] sells "Rim-Guard' as a biodegradable fluid for loading tires. I installed it in my new tires several years ago after the calc ate up my other rims on a Ford 1700. Never a problem after that. Now with my Foton 504 I did the same thing. You might consider this product if you decide to load. I dont want to replace rims for sure. Best of luck
Jim

 

[savageactor7]

I dunno....I suppose if you pull a plow or other ground engagement equipment loaded tires are an advantage. For us they weren't.

It was better for our applications that we put chains on all 4 turf tires. This simple wooden holder I cobbled up in less that 30 min has been a Godsend for us.

Slides on and off, I can add all the weight I need ...when it's needed. Convenient holder for a lots of things, now even long handled tools as well.

 

[jake98]

I always have something on the 3ph for weight and without loaded tires I sink in the muddy places pretty well. It would have to sink better with more weight I'd guess... and I trailer a lot, so I'd never get them filled.

 

[BeeferMan]

Loading tires or not depends on what you do with your tractor. Many of our hay fields have steep grades and other terrain - I would not send out anyone on a tractor to cut/rake/tedd/bale hay without loaded tires. If all you're doing is mowing your relatively flat lawn, then I wouldn't bother.

As for the price of $800 to fix a tire related earlier - you need to find a new tire service. I had two new radials installed on my Case (14.9 28, I believe), and the new tires I put on a 600 Ford loaded, at my site, total coast was around $1100.

Also, my tire guy would rather you do NOT take the wheels off the tractor, he would rather take the tire off the rim while the wheel is on the tractor.

 

[MarkV]

I sort of wonder if those so adamantly against loaded tire have ever had them and what size tractor they have. If you are finish mowing with your tractor I can understand why you would not want the extra weight rutting the yard. If not finish mowing I can't see a single reason to not have the extra stability and traction. I would not own a tractor without loaded tires. Can't think of a single reason to give away that much performance unless it was my finish mower.

MarkV

 

[jake98]

I move trees and stumps with the grapple, box blade, roto-till, rake soil, etc., and spinning the tires is never a problem for me, sinking in mud is a constant one. Must be the dirt up here.

 

[BigRosto]

Had Ford NAA with CaCl which after 30 years rusted the rims. After new tires and rims used just the pie weights which still added about 600 lbs, I think. Traded NAA for a 2615 Mahindra, and just last summer, the Mahindra for a CC ex 2900 TBH. For both of these new tractors the dealer loaded the tires with a glycol antifreeze mix which he swears by rather than calcium chloride. All three tractors have loaders and tire ballast is necessary unless you're prepared to remove the loader and install front weights when using a rear-mounted implement like a brush hog.

 

[dennis52]

I sort of wonder if those so adamantly against loaded tire have ever had them and what size tractor they have. If you are finish mowing with your tractor I can understand why you would not want the extra weight rutting the yard. If not finish mowing I can't see a single reason to not have the extra stability and traction. I would not own a tractor without loaded tires. Can't think of a single reason to give away that much performance unless it was my finish mower.

MarkV

I have seen quite a few reasons in the posts for not loading tires for particular tractor tasks.

Perhaps someone can put forward some engineering expertise.

The question is how much extra stability and/or traction you are actually getting for how much weight and where the weight is best located.

Now I could load up my tractor forever with implements, loader, wheel weights and tire loading ; this might make me feel safe on a slope but is the tractor actually more stable.

In the end people will decide themselves; I kind of like to make informed decisions and will change my view if I get better information.

 

[bunchgrass]

I'm bumping this thread back up rather than start a new one talking about ballast. Right now I'm about 72 hours from having my new Kubota M8540 delivered and the dealer wants to know if they should load my tires - they're now using a sort of canola oil mixture of some sort. Non-corrosive and biodegradable.

I have run my current tractor (MF265) with CaCl ballast and rear weights and felt it was fine. Probably wouldn't go with less on that tractor. But now I have to decide if I want to ADD (read PAY) for the ballast and, after gritting through the tractor pricing, makes me cringe a bit. My tires are 18.4x30 and can handle about 900# each (for an additional 1800# back there). This unit has a pretty stout loader and a 7 foot bucket so I'm thinking I definitely need SOME ballast. The question is how much? Max out (1800#)would cost me about $650 added at this time.

I was thinking maybe 500# per tire but would that just be a band-aid?